Devouring Soul Emperor

The Flying Ship could accommodate a large number of people, and its speed was astonishing.

The journey from the Great Xia Nation to the Blood-soaked Land would only take three to four months.

However, the Flying Ship was powered by Primordial Spirit Liquid. Operating it consumed a colossal amount, an expense that likely only an entire imperial dynasty could bear.

After leaving Lianshan County, the Flying Ship still had to stop at four more counties to pick up passengers before it could officially begin its journey to the Blood-soaked Land.

In light of the Ninth Prince’s recent unauthorized departure, Prince Duan issued another strict order: no one was to leave the Flying Ship without permission.

Violators would be thrown off!

Meanwhile, the Ninth Prince was in his room, plotting something with a few of his followers.

"That bastard, the Seventh Prince... No wonder I couldn’t find him for over a year. He was hiding with the Great Xia Dragon Guard all along. Hmph. I’ve been utterly humiliated this time!"

The Ninth Prince’s expression was grim, and he spoke through gritted teeth.

The story of how Lord Lan had forced him to slap himself at the Great Xia Dragon Guard’s station in Lianshan County had already spread throughout the entire Flying Ship in the past two days.

And one could imagine it wouldn’t be long before the tale reached every corner of the Imperial City.

The mere thought of it made the Ninth Prince grind his teeth in hatred.

"Heh heh, Your Highness, there’s no need to be angry," one of his lackeys said with a fawning smile. "What are the Seventh Prince and that Chu Qingyun? Once you pass the examination and become a Sect Disciple, killing them will be as easy as saying the word."

As a prince of exceptional strength and talent, the Ninth Prince had managed to attract a number of followers, even among the candidates for the sect recruitment.

"Well said! Hmph, once I become a Sect Disciple, I will exterminate the Seventh Prince’s entire bloodline! And as for that Chu Qingyun... the hero who saved the County City? I’ll ruin his reputation completely and make sure he dies a miserable death!" the Ninth Prince snarled, staring out the window.

Just then, someone burst through the door in a hurry.

"Hmph? What’s the rush? Who gave you permission to barge in?" the Ninth Prince snapped, his brow twitching.

The man froze for a second before blurting out, "Your Highness, it’s important! That Chu Qingyun... he’s on the Flying Ship too!"

"What?"

The Ninth Prince was stunned. "That little bastard is only a third-level Martial Spirit. What right does he have to board the Flying Ship and take the examination?"

"I don’t know either. I just heard that someone saw Chu Qingyun board the Flying Ship with the four Earth Spirit Realm experts from Lianshan County. Their rooms are all arranged, so there can’t be any mistake!"

"Dammit! That bastard!" The Ninth Prince slammed his fist on the table and cursed under his breath in frustration.

Just then, one of the men beside him suddenly spoke up. "Your Highness, this is a great opportunity! Since that brat dared to get on the Flying Ship, why don’t we teach him a lesson and show him the consequences of offending you!"

The Ninth Prince glared at him. "Are you an idiot? I just angered Lord Lan and my Imperial Uncle, and you want me to stir up more trouble on the Flying Ship?"

The Ninth Prince might be cruel and vindictive, but he was no fool.

"Your Highness, we could use someone else to do our dirty work," another man suggested, his eyes shifting slyly. "I heard Princess Qingyou has already recruited two talented attendants. That Chu Qingyun is a third-level Martial Spirit who can defeat a fourth-level one—that makes him a genius, too. Why don’t we... introduce him to Princess Qingyou?"

A pleased expression spread across the Ninth Prince’s face.

"Yes, an excellent plan!"

"That little bitch Qingyou... She has countless admirers on this Flying Ship. If she takes a liking to Chu Qingyun, he’ll become a public enemy whether he accepts her or not!"

"And knowing Chu Qingyun’s personality, he’ll most likely refuse."

"I’ll leave this matter to you."

With that, the Ninth Prince looked out the window and smiled coldly.

Aboard the Flying Ship, Chu Qingyun was surrounded by Earth Spirit Realm experts.

Even the weakest of them, someone like Dai Linggang, had forced Chu Qingyun to use every trick up his sleeve just to win.

Against someone even slightly stronger, Chu Qingyun probably wouldn’t stand a chance without unleashing his Devouring Power.

The thought was difficult for Chu Qingyun to accept.

’My Realm has reached the third-level Martial Spirit. I should be able to cultivate the Fifth Layer of the Profound Celestial Divine Pattern now...’

In his room, Chu Qingyun sat cross-legged on the floor. After a moment’s thought, he took out the Tier Four Ice-type Spiritual Medicine he had prepared long ago and got ready to cultivate the Profound Celestial Divine Pattern.

Normally, the Fifth Layer of the Profound Celestial Divine Pattern could only be cultivated after breaking through to the Earth Spirit Realm.

However, Chu Qingyun’s body had been enhanced by that mysterious cyan power, making it far stronger than an ordinary person’s.

He estimated that cultivating the Fifth Layer of the Profound Celestial Divine Pattern shouldn’t be a problem.

Chu Qingyun had already studied the Fifth Layer of the Profound Celestial Divine Pattern until he understood it completely.

The Tier Four Ice-type Spiritual Medicine offered little resistance against his Devouring Power. It dissolved into streams of icy energy, which were absorbed into his Devouring Martial Soul and refined into his own power.

After devouring and Refining all the Ice-type Spiritual Medicine, Chu Qingyun controlled the icy energy and began the Inscription Refining process, etching the Fifth-Layer Ice Pattern onto his body.

One by one, the Ice Patterns were etched onto his skin, gradually replacing the previous Earth Pattern.

However, less than halfway through the process, Chu Qingyun began to feel a faint pressure on his body from the Fifth Layer of the Profound Celestial Divine Pattern.

He forced himself to continue with the Inscription Refining, but the pressure grew stronger and stronger until his body began to tremble uncontrollably.

’Dammit, I still underestimated the power of this Fifth Layer...’

The sweat beading on Chu Qingyun’s forehead was ice-cold.

He had, after all, underestimated the Fifth-Layer Ice Pattern. Even with his body enhanced by the cyan power, it was still struggling to withstand the strain.

’The Profound Celestial Divine Pattern exerts the most pressure on the body right after it’s been inscribed.’

’If I can just endure this part, I’ll succeed...’

Gritting his teeth, Chu Qingyun once again mobilized a stream of power from the Ice-type Spiritual Medicine in his meridians and etched another Divine Pattern onto his arm.

A faint, almost inaudible tearing sound came from within his arm, and Chu Qingyun hissed in pain.

Unable to withstand the power of the Fifth-Layer Ice Pattern, a muscle in his arm had been torn apart!

However, just as the muscle tore, another stream of cyan power flowed out from the green dot on his arm, instantly restoring it to normal.

’This works too?’

Chu Qingyun took a deep breath, mobilized more of the Ice-type Spiritual Medicine’s power from his meridians, and quickly etched several more Divine Patterns onto his arm.

Another muscle tore, but the cyan power flowed out again, instantly repairing his arm once more.